Skip to content
UK salary report · 2026

Food Production Operative Salary in East

Official ONS earnings for East, covering 10,000 jobs.

ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings Grouped occupation Where this comes from →

Median salary — East

£27,917

gross, per year, all employees

▼ 7.2% change on the previous year

Mean

£27,422

Jobs measured

10,000

What most food production operatives actually earn

Half of food production operatives in East earn between £24,213 and £34,894. Earning above £34,894 puts you in the top quarter of the profession.

ONS suppresses the detailed spread for this occupation at regional level, so this range describes the wider “Process Operatives” group in East.

The full pay range

Each bar is the salary at that percentile — the 25th means a quarter of food production operatives earn less than this.

20th
£23,488
25th
£24,213
30th
£25,056
40th
£27,580
50th
£29,145
60th
£32,386
70th
£33,745
75th
£34,894
Check where your salary sits

How East ranks for food production operative pay

2nd

of 9 GB regions with a published figure

West Midlands tops the table on £28,052 and Yorkshire and The Humber sits at the bottom on £25,873. East is £135 short of the top.

Ranking compares published regional medians for the same occupation. It says nothing about cost of living — a higher median doesn't survive contact with rent. The cost of living calculator is the honest next step.

Where this figure comes from

ONS occupation group
Food, drink and tobacco process operatives
SOC 2020 code
8111
Measure
Gross annual pay, all employees
Edition
ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, 2025 provisional

ONS doesn't measure “food production operative” as its own category. These figures are for the wider group “Food, drink and tobacco process operatives”, which includes this role alongside others. ONS measures food, drink and tobacco process operatives.

Source: Office for National Statistics, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Figures are estimates from a survey of PAYE jobs and are not financial advice.

Food Production Operative salary FAQs

What is the average Food Production Operative salary in East?

The median is £27,917 a year and the mean is £27,422, according to the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings. Those cover all employees; ASHE publishes no full-time split at regional level.

What is a good Food Production Operative salary?

Half of food production operatives earn between £24,213 and £34,894. Anything above £34,894 is in the top quarter for the role.

Is this figure official?

Yes. It comes from the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, an accredited official statistic based on employer PAYE records, covering 10,000 jobs in this occupation.

Official figures show the market. Your salary shows what employers actually pay.

Add your salary anonymously

Share this salary data